Ye Tiancheng was utterly speechless. Was the bride Zhao Xudong was supposed to marry a matter of mere wilfulness?
Things had long since become far more complicated than that.
It was already egregious enough to grab any man off the street to impersonate the bride. And even if it was a substitute bride, locking him in a coffin? If Ye Tiancheng and the others hadn't arrived in time during the day, the fatty would have likely suffocated after being locked up for so long.
Ye Tiancheng frowned. After waiting for Zhao Xudong to finish speaking, he finally extended a hand, seemingly to lift the red veil. Unexpectedly, Ye Tiancheng's consciousness blurred once more.
Before he completely lost consciousness, Ye Tiancheng's mind raced, thinking, "This is bad. Could I be directly stuffed into a coffin?"
The next moment, Ye Tiancheng's consciousness cleared again, and he abruptly opened his eyes and sat up.
Having successfully sat up, Ye Tiancheng realized he hadn't been locked in a coffin. He wasn't sure if it was because of what happened during the day and the fatty being rescued, or if Liu Han felt Ye Tiancheng was not to be trifled with, but when Ye Tiancheng woke up, he was still in the room.
However, because his sudden movement was too loud, Hou Mingzhu was startled awake by Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Qingcheng was also slightly disturbed, but Hou Mingzhu, with swift reflexes, gently patted her back, coaxing their daughter back to a peaceful sleep. She wasn't truly woken up.
After confirming her daughter was sleeping soundly again, Hou Mingzhu raised her head and softly asked Ye Tiancheng with concern, "Tiancheng, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly wake up, and with such..."
...a commotion, looking so startled, as if you'd encountered something terrifying.
Although Hou Mingzhu had felt quite scared by the strange and terrifying events of the day, having Ye Tiancheng by her side provided a sense of security. Coupled with her own strong psychological fortitude, she had remained relatively calm.
However, this did not mean Hou Mingzhu was completely at ease.
Hou Mingzhu had also slept restlessly that night due to the day's events, her sleep being very light. She was easily startled by the slightest disturbance, let alone the commotion Ye Tiancheng had just caused, which had indeed woken her up.
Facing Hou Mingzhu's concerned question, Ye Tiancheng, though still somewhat disoriented, took a breath and prioritized answering her question, lest his prolonged silence make her feel uneasy.
"It's nothing. I just had a sudden nightmare and woke up."
Perhaps it truly was a nightmare, Ye Tiancheng mused.
Waking up to find everything seemingly real made Ye Tiancheng uncertain. He wasn't sure if his dreams were a result of Liu Han secretly manipulating things and affecting him, or if it was because he had heard the fatty's account of his experience during the day, and his mind, remembering the event, had conjured a similar dream at night.
After all, Ye Tiancheng's experience differed from the fatty's. Although he dreamt of a similar scenario, he hadn't encountered any actual mishaps or been locked in a coffin. He had woken up in his room.
Ye Tiancheng also knew that Hou Mingzhu could remain relatively calm and not feel too scared because he was there, along with the little fox.
If Hou Mingzhu were to suddenly learn that even he could fall prey to Liu Han's schemes, she would likely become truly terrified. Therefore, he didn't mention his dream to Hou Mingzhu, fearing it would make her anxious.
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say he had a nightmare, Hou Mingzhu moved closer and hugged him comfortingly. "Why did you have a nightmare? What did you dream about?"
Ye Tiancheng wiped his face and hugged Hou Mingzhu back. "I can't quite remember. After waking up, the memories of the dream faded more and more, but the feeling of having had a nightmare is still very vivid."
"But it's nothing serious. I've recovered. It's okay, you don't need to worry about me."
Hou Mingzhu didn't immediately believe Ye Tiancheng's words. She carefully observed his expression, and only when she found no clues did she reluctantly accept his explanation.
Hou Mingzhu said, "A nightmare, it's fine if you've forgotten it."
Ye Tiancheng then said, "Yes, I know. Anyway, I can't remember it clearly. Perhaps it's because we've been confined to this village, and my mood hasn't been great. Plus, something bad happened during the day, which might have caused the nightmare."
Hou Mingzhu thought that was reasonable. Something had happened during the day, and it was unlikely any of them could sleep soundly. Having a nightmare was quite normal; she herself hadn't slept well.
Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu chatted softly for a few more words, confirming that nothing untoward had happened. Mindful that it was still early and talking for too long might wake Ye Qingcheng, they didn't say much more, and the conversation soon concluded.
The very next morning, the first thing Ye Tiancheng did was dig the little fox out of the covers and have him inspect the room.
As for why he didn't rely on the Nuwa Stone, the Nuwa Stone, being with Ye Tiancheng, had its perspective limited by Ye Tiancheng's range of activity.
Ye Tiancheng didn't necessarily know everything that had happened to him, especially things like dreams, which he might not be able to sense. And if something in the room had been tampered with, the Nuwa Stone might not be able to detect it.
After all, the Nuwa Stone was just one divine artifact, not an immortal. Even immortals couldn't see through all the world's problems with a single glance.
The little fox also found it strange that Ye Tiancheng was experiencing such an anomaly. He meticulously inspected the room, using the excuse of providing security, as they indeed needed to be cautious after what had happened to the fatty earlier.
Not only Ye Tiancheng's room, but Ye Tiancheng also had the little fox check Fatty's room thoroughly.
After the inspection, the little fox's expression changed.
Ye Tiancheng couldn't discern any supernatural methods, but he could observe his surroundings. Ye Tiancheng noticed that when he asked the little fox to inspect the room, Shao Ying's expression seemed to shift, appearing somewhat nervous.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng paid more attention to Shao Ying.
Noticing the little fox's changed expression after the room inspection, Ye Tiancheng immediately looked at him. Seeing that the little fox didn't seem inclined to speak immediately, he called him aside privately.
Since there was no particularly good place to hide, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox went to the little fox's room.
As the little fox lived alone, his room was independent and provided a more suitable private space for discussion.
Once in the room, Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox, "What did you find? Your expression seemed off earlier."
The little fox looked at Ye Tiancheng and immediately said, "Big Brother, this incident is likely not due to our bad luck, but rather man-made. Someone tampered with things, causing you and Brother Fatty to experience these events!"
Ye Tiancheng's expression changed, and he exclaimed, "What did you say?"
The little fox took out something from his sleeve – a few dark, block-like objects, their original form unidentifiable.
Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox, "What is this you're holding?"
The little fox replied, "I found this in your room, Big Brother, and in Brother Fatty's room."
"This is not something good. It's because of this that Liu Han targeted you and Brother Fatty."
"When Brother Fatty had his incident before, although I inspected carefully, there were still some oversights. When you told me this morning that something happened to you again, I felt there might be something I missed and needed to inspect more thoroughly."
"So, I searched even more meticulously, and then I found this under your bed, Big Brother. Afterward, when I went to Brother Fatty's room, I also looked under his bed, and sure enough, it was there too."
Hearing the little fox's words, Ye Tiancheng's face turned extremely grim. "Who would do such a thing?"
The little fox hesitated several times. Although he didn't want to speculate, the facts were clear, and only one possibility seemed most likely. The little fox finally spoke.
The little fox told Ye Tiancheng, "Big Brother, I recognize what this is, I know its purpose, and I also know a special characteristic of this item."
Seeing the little fox's serious expression, Ye Tiancheng knew he was about to reveal something very important. Ye Tiancheng sighed, "Just tell me. I can handle it."
He had a vague premonition of what the little fox was about to say.
The little fox stated directly, "The characteristic of this item is that it must be made on the spot and only lasts for one day. It cannot be prepared in advance and left somewhere."
After the little fox finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng almost immediately understood the unspoken implications.
If this item could only be made on the spot, then it was unlikely to be something the villagers had placed in their rooms.
Because after Ye Tiancheng and his group moved in, the other villagers, including the house owner Zhao Hai and his wife, rarely came to the area where they were staying. Even if they did, they would never enter the rooms.
Others would generally stop in common areas like the hall.
As for the bodyguards who came with Ye Tiancheng and his group, they also never entered Ye Tiancheng's rooms.
Therefore, the only people who could have entered Ye Tiancheng's and Fatty's rooms were their own people – Ye Tiancheng, Hou Mingzhu, Fatty, the little fox, Shao Ying, and Ye Tiancheng himself, a total of six people.
Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng were immediately ruled out as suspects. They couldn't possibly be involved. And Ye Tiancheng knew his own innocence.
Fatty had just experienced being locked in a coffin. It was unlikely he was the one who placed the items. Firstly, he wouldn't know how to make them. Secondly, even if he did, what would be his motive?
Even if Fatty had a motive, he wouldn't need to harm himself. He had gone through the ordeal of being in a coffin. If Ye Tiancheng and the others hadn't arrived in time yesterday, Fatty might have truly suffocated in the coffin.
Fatty had no reason to risk his own life, and he was a sworn brother to Ye Tiancheng, so it was even more impossible for him to harm Ye Tiancheng.
The little fox's identity was questionable, but if he intended to harm someone, his methods would be more subtle, and he wouldn't reveal the items to Ye Tiancheng. More importantly, the little fox's room did not contain these items.
While this didn't definitively prove the little fox was the perpetrator, it did, to some extent, suggest he wasn't. He was not a suspect.